Notes For Burly Who Wasn't Here For History
February 17, 2009
The scientific revolution
Humanities and social science types
The enlightenment
Techies
The industrial revolution
A revival in the way things are produced
Eventually, societies that produced manufactured goods as their primary economic activity become known as "industrial societies"
System of production in place before the industrial revolution was called "cottage industry"
Eg Entrepreneurs would drop off wool at farmhouses/cottages and pick up thread, then drop the thread at another house to be sewn into something
Eventually, he'd pick up clothes (manufactured goods) and sell them
The industrial revolution c. 1750-c. 1900
The revolution changes all this. It comes from 2 major 18th century technical innovations
1) a series of technical advances in farming (eg scientifically conceived fertilizers) which increases yields. Food production increases…AND?? Fewer workers are required to produce the same (or even higher) amount of food
These advances are known together as "the agricultural revolution"
2) the invention of a source of power that can be located anywhere=>the steam engine
The displaced/unemployed agricultural workers will become workers in the new factories
The workers were more numerous than the jobs available=>this led to exploitation of various kinds (eg Ebenezer Scrooge=>ruthless factory owner)
The other source of this exploitation was the fact that society, the legal system, the regulatory system, etc. had not caught up with this change
Eg city sanitation, building codes, public health systems, worker's protection systems (of various kinds)
The old systems of "social safety nets" were losing power
1) the church-less powerful, under attack from the enlightenment, revolutionary governments, etc.
2) extended family/kinship groups-they're being split up by some moving to cities)
3) landlord (post serfdom)/the "Lord of the Estate" (who had a paternalistic obligation, well understood by all classes in society, to protect or look after his tenants)-now, many people are working for factory owners who feel no sense of obligation (which was based on tradition) to protect them
Classical liberalism
Enlightenment Professionals
"New Industrial Class"=>Factory Owners/Businessmen
1) justification for type of government: rationality (eg American Constitution)
2)equality of opportunity (everyone can compete in the market place without distinctions based on birth)
3) economic restrictions (eg tariffs, guilds/unions) are bad
4) tradition (social and otherwise) tradition has no particular value
5) change is usually good=>basically positive towards change
Traditional conservatism
"Old Money"=>Landowners, Aristocracy=>Doing less well economically since all the changes
1) Justification for type of government: it's evolved that way (grew up in response to particular needs)=>therefore "it just turned out this way"=>that's a good justification for keeping it that way
2) equality is not particularly important
3)economic restrictions are good (often) eg guilds help craftsmen…unions help factory workers AND hurt factory owners (the enemies of the landowners)
4) tradition often contains unarticulated wisdom…AND society is not a machine, it's a sensitive ecosystem (eg Burke, 1790s)
5) change is often dangerous and should be approached very slowly and with great caution
Non-revolutionary socialism
New Industrial WORKING Class
1) Justification for type of government: how well it manages the society as a whole and how well it takes care of the "average person" AND the poor
2) Equality of result to a significant degree
3)economic restrictions AND broad government interference in the economy is a good thing PARTICULARLY when it results in re-distribution of wealth (from the rich to the poor) this endorses a large increase in government power generally
4) tradition is good…if it helps the lower classes AND bad if it doesn't
eg DAYS OFF (holidays)
5) change is imperative/necessary=>if progress (eg. Social) isn't happening, something is very wrong